Bill would put state spending, tax credit details online

House members voted Monday to put online the details of state spending and tax credits, The Oklahoman reported today.

HB 3422 would require each individual expenditure be listed separately instead of being lumped together as one purchase, such as office expenses, the newspaper said.

The database would be searchable by the name of the recipient, the entity making the purchase and the date of the expenditure.

The measure also would require the Oklahoma Tax Commission to prepare and maintain a list of all taxpayers who have claimed any tax credit. The information would be made public on Open Books, the state’s taxpayer transparency Web site.

The searchable, downloadable database would include the identity of all taxpayers or organizations having any part in the chain of custody of the tax credit. The information would be available beginning with the 2011 tax year.

HB 3422 goes to the state Senate for a vote.

Joey Senat, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

OSU School of Journalism